Marina Topples No. 2 Edison

Marina Coach Mark Rehling thought big plays would make the difference in the Vikings’ Sunset League opener Friday against second-ranked Edison.

He was wrong.

The Chargers made the big plays--scoring all three of their touchdowns on plays of 40 or more yards--but it was Marina’s steady running game that produced a 28-20 victory Friday night at Westminster High.

Marina running back Ray Mietkiewicz and quarterback Beau Brown combined for 324 rushing yards and the Viking defense put in a strong effort as Marina (3-2-1, 1-0) beat the Chargers (5-1, 0-1) for fourth time in 26 meetings.

“They outplayed us,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “They won the battle of the line, and we turned the ball over too many times.”

The Vikings held Edison running back Darryl Poston to a season-low 114 rushing yards, 40 of those coming on a third-quarter touchdown run. The Chargers threw for two touchdowns but quarterback Richard Schwartz completed just seven of 23 passes and was intercepted three times.

Marina was limited to a single pass completion but moved the ball well on the ground. Mietkiewicz (194 yards in 21 carries) went 37 yards for a touchdown on his first carry. And he ran 31 yards around the right side for another score in the second quarter.

The Chargers also scored twice in the first half. Brendon Cornell caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Schwartz and had another 53-yard touchdown reception from wide receiver Christian Prelle later in the second period.

Brown got 115 of his 130 rushing yards in the second half. He scored on a 25-yard run in the third quarter to give Marina a 21-14 lead, and went 54 yards on an option play to set up a six-yard scoring run by Mietkiewicz with 9:08 left.

Edison drove to the Marina 26 before defensive lineman John Manley intercepted a Schwartz pass to end the Charger threat.